The Rising Tide Conference is an annual gathering for all who wish to learn more and do more to assist New Orleans’ recovery. It’s for everyone who loves New Orleans and is working to bring a better future to all its residents.

Leveraging the power of bloggers and new media, the conference is a launch pad for organization and action. Our day-long program of speakers and presentations is tailored to inform, entertain, enrage and inspire.

More critically:

There will be a pre-conference party hosted by the New Orleans bloggers on Friday evening August 27th, also at the Howlin’ Wolf.

Learn more at risingtidenola.com. I encourage all of you, from far and near, to attend this fun-filled, mostly laid-back congregation of bloggers, community organizers and, like it says above, all who love New Orleans to discuss topics that are vital to the future of this city. But here’s why YOU should come: to be a part of our legendarybartabs! Ok, ok, here’s really why: a panel on Treme!

With the end of the show’s first season and a 13-episode second season in the works, panel discussion will focus on representing the city and its people on screen, New Orleans culture and saving it five years after The Storm, the music of Treme and, of course, magical Hubig’s pies. Panelists are (are you ready?): Eric Overmyer, co-creator and executive producer; Lolis Eric Elie, Treme staff writer; the once and future DJ Davis Rogan; New Orleans Times-Picayune TV columnist Dave Walker; and your very own Back Of Town blogger and administrator extraordinaire VirgoTex! And, since the Rising Tide organizers wanted someone to cover the “entertain and enrage but mostly enrage” portion of the program, moderating this motley bunch is me.

As far as format is concerned, I am partial towards some direct Q&A followed by or interspersed with audience participation. Some of you may not be able to attend and the one-hour time slot will not allow all of you to get a word in, so please leave your questions in the comments section below. Don’t be surprised if you ask something fantastic and I use it in the panel, giving you full credit.

I am very happy that you have allerted us to this event, as I am sure I will attend. But you say the questions must be asked ahead of time? Good and bad: what if I have a question down the line? Oh well, its worth it…..tanks

Posting the latest bad news for those of us who are still not in compliance with our “(NO) Road Home grant guidelines.” If Congress has it’s way, that Hazard Mitigation and forgivable grant money will be snatched back. Hope this can be addressed in some way by the grass roots bloggers. I am glad to attend this conference! There have to be thousands affected by this.

Turns out we made the wrong choice 5 years back by choosing “demolish/rebuild” on our original FEMA application. December of last year, rule changes made us completely out of any HM $ to rebuild at a higher level, thusly knocking us out of the possibility of rebuilding.

So here we are, facing our 60’s, income and retirement drastically gone or drastically reduced, in danger of losing about the only financial asset we have left, our lifelong good credit, if the state puts a lein on our flooded house. And what the hell will they do with all those flooded properties anyway?

If nothing else, your voice and that of your struggling, rebuilding neighbors may be heard and you may be able to build some critical mass and momentum around it. Get enough people riled up and then your legislators hear about it. It’s somewhere to start. Also helps that Mother Jones reported on it. Hope to see you at RT5!

The Treme panel will be a blast! And it sounds like a lot of “newbies” will attend the conference this year inspired by their fascination with the show. Along the way, I hope they’ll join us the day before the conference as we volunteer at Second Harvest Food Bank, and that they’ll hear other exciting information from the other presentations that will also make its way onto their blogs and into their daily conversations for months to come.

That’s a good question, machine—not as in ‘unanswerable’ but a good question to keep open. I would say the 2 RT conferences I’ve been to (and I’ll be back for 3rd in August) have probably helped the recovery by bringing smart committed people together to talk about what’s been done, what has not been done, to learn about the infrastructure repairs (Tim Ruppert at RT2), the charter school vs. public school situation (RT3), the public safety and police dept. issues discussed by Brian Denzer (and again this year), and so on. Sometimes politicians or candidates come to check in. The keynote speakers have been superb, often leading specialists in their field (such as John Barry, author of Rising Tide on the 1927 flood at RT3). Much of the positive effect is bringing people together, keeping the momentum of commitment, interest, caring, and action (consider the good that Karen Gadbois of Squandered Heritage and The Lens has done). It may seem hard to quantify, but you can definitely feel the energy when you’re there, and you can take it home with you and build on it. We hope you’ll come see for yourself. —Mark LaFlaur, LeveesNotWar.org